What is the primary function of DHCP?

What is the primary function of DHCP?

• A. To automatically assign IP addresses to devices on a network
• B. To monitor network devices
• C. To secure network management
• D. To resolve hostnames

Answer: (A)

DHCP's primary job is to automatically assign IP addresses to devices on a network. When a device connects, it asks for an IP; the DHCP server offers an available address, the device requests it, and the server acknowledges the lease. The server can also provide other essential network settings like the subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS servers, which makes onboarding devices quick and prevents IP conflicts from manual configuration. This automation is what makes it the best fit for managing addresses at scale. It doesn’t monitor devices, secure network management, or resolve hostnames—that last function is handled by DNS, which translates domain names to IPs rather than issuing addresses.

DHCP's primary job is to automatically assign IP addresses to devices on a network. When a device connects, it asks for an IP; the DHCP server offers an available address, the device requests it, and the server acknowledges the lease. The server can also provide other essential network settings like the subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS servers, which makes onboarding devices quick and prevents IP conflicts from manual configuration. This automation is what makes it the best fit for managing addresses at scale. It doesn’t monitor devices, secure network management, or resolve hostnames—that last function is handled by DNS, which translates domain names to IPs rather than issuing addresses.